Stepping into the Impossible
by Summer Evenings
Summary: Rose is back... But history needs to be changed. Permanently. Can she step through and do the impossible again? Sequel to Bad Wolf Rising.
1. Chapter 1

Note: My interpretation of series four! Also, the sequel to Bad Wolf Rising! And That Other Guy is once again beta. Yea and onward!

_Previously…_

_With a howl and a crash of thunder, the TARDIS took the two legends into the time vortex and back to the life they had led so long ago._

Taking Rose's hand, the Doctor pulled her back to the TARDIS. A couple of days after their reunion, and it had been as hectic as always. Armies trying to take over whole solar systems, alien eating humanoids, and deadly opals all came and went in a flash of color and light for the duo.

They had just gotten back from a misadventure once again. The Doctor had tried to take Rose to the opening night of the Broadway play, Wicked, but had ended up on an entirely different planet in the middle of a civil war!

Calming their racing hearts afterwards was the dull throb of home in turquoise and gold spinning them into the vastness of the Vortex. This was what Rose had missed so much in her parallel world. The thrum of the TARDIS as she scolded the Doctor for having people shoot at her and the hum as she made sure that Rose wasn't hurt.

Slowly standing from the banana colored couch she had flopped down on once they had gotten in the door, Rose walked over to where the Doctor was looking over a readout of the time they'd just gone from. He nodded his approval and then turned towards where Rose was leaning against the console.

"Is there something you wanted, Rose?" The Doctor asked with a sly smile, raising an eyebrow in question when she bit her lip.

Ever since her return, Rose had wanted to ask the Doctor about his time when they were apart. She had thought he would tell her sooner or later, but the Doctor had avoided it when Rose tried to slip it in. The only stories she got were ones about Jack, the first one when the Doctor told her his account of Satellite 5. They had gone to her room because he had wanted to be surrounded by things that were hers. Now seemed as good a time as any to ask about his other companions.

"Yeah, actually. I told you what's been going on with me. What about you, Doctor? When I was gone, what adventures did you have?" The Doctor's eyes grew dark, and Rose, thinking she'd upset him by being too blunt, tried to backtrack.

"I mean, I'm just curious. But I can wait or…" The Doctor took her shoulders and looked her in the eye. Rose was silent immediately. Something had happened that was more terrible than she could imagine; she could read it in his eyes.

"You have every right to know what I've been doing, Rose. Don't ever doubt yourself when it comes to me. You know me so well." The Doctor touched her cheek, and his eyes were far away, in a time when there had been nothing to tell because Rose had been right by his side. But this was a story that struck a nerve in the Doctor's hearts and though he didn't want to relive it, it wouldn't do to have Rose not know.

"Come on, let's go to your room. It's more comfortable in there."

Rose nodded as the Doctor took her hand and led her into the depths of the TARDIS towards her own room. She quickly went through the door first and cleared off a spot on her bed where they could sit. She had a feeling this was going to be a long story.

"Alright, first things first," The Doctor stood at the end of the bed. Rose knew that he'd sit when he was ready, so she made herself comfortable.

"I've had two companions since you've left. Don't look at me like that; I would have had more had things been different. It was difficult after… Well I'll get to that."

"The first was Martha Jones. She was studying to become a doctor, and she would have made a fine one. She and I went all over the place: saw Shakespeare, teamed up with good old Captain Jack Harkness, who had my hand from Christmas day, fought an evil Time Lord, and kept some angels from killing everyone. We reclaimed my hand, made off with all limbs intact, and saved the universe multiple times, but I can tell you those stories later. When she left, she went off to lead a better life. I went off on my own for a time."

"That's when I met up with Donna. Donna Noble, the most important woman in the universe for one shining moment. We'd met before, she was the first person I… bumped into after getting cut off at Bad Wolf Bay."

The Doctor sat down with a puff of air. He had used only one breathe to say all of that, knowing that Rose could tell that something big was going to come from this talk. As if to confirm his suspicions, Rose took his hand and gently squeezed as if to give him strength to go on. With downcast, dark, angry eyes the Doctor continued.

"We had some fun, me and Donna. The Universe seemed to keep pushing us together, binding us to each other. But we ran and soon ran into an old enemy: Daleks. A new army remade by Davros, their original creator. He had the Earth at his mercy, had it moved to the center of twenty-seven planets to make a giant engine to destroy everything in creation. It was his plan to rip apart reality."

"But Donna, oh Donna, she was the one that saved them all. That hand of mine, well it contained regenerative energy. I was badly wounded before all this and needed to regenerate, but I really didn't want to because this body had so many memories attached to it. So I siphoned the rest of the energy into that hand after healing myself. That's when things started to, if you'll mind the pun, get out of hand."

"I was captured. Jack turned up, as did Martha and Sarah Jane Smith, so they ran around trying to be helpful. I was stuck as Davros' prisoner. Eventually, they were caught also."

"Donna got stuck in the TARDIS right before we got caught. Then the Daleks threw the TARDIS into the center of their ships core to destroy it. I thought that was it, my emotions overwhelmed me, and I even offered to take Donna's place inside the TARDIS. But they didn't listen, and I was sure the TARDIS was gone. But Donna touched that hand as the TARDIS went down, and a biological metacrisis occurred. The hand grew into another me; only he was half-human because of Donna. Donna's mind became that of a Time Lord's."

"The three of us saved the universe, but at a cost. Doctor number two created Dalek genocide, which destabilized the Dalek ship we were on. Jack and I were cut off from everyone, but we had the TARDIS. We weren't fast enough to get past the railing that had fallen between them and us though. Everyone died except Jack and myself that day. It was too high a cost, Rose. I lost them all. They were there because of me, and I killed them."

The Doctor turned to Rose, tears in his eyes, understanding in hers. She caught him in her arms as he fell to the bed, sobs filling the room. Though outwardly she was calm, Rose was horrified on the inside. A whimper and whine came from somewhere in the back of her mind as even Bad Wolf grieved for those that were lost.

The Doctor kept repeating that he'd killed them, but Rose came to a decision as she held him. There had to be some way to help. She wasn't Bad Wolf for nothing; she just had to figure out what to do. She could control the Time Vortex now, she could still bring life.

And so began Rose Tyler's journey to the end. She had come back to this world, but could she now go back and make things right? The song of the TARDIS wasn't a flow anymore; it was a cry. The TARDIS was crying, and Rose had to change that.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Here's the second chapter. Hope you like and please review if you can. It would mean a lot since this is a sequel and should be a continuation. Just want to know if I'm doing my job! Hearts to And That Other Guy and everyone who reads this!

The Doctor finally had fallen asleep on Rose's bed, but Rose was still very much awake. Above her, the stars swirled and twinkled at a distance in the black of space. Looking into that darkness, Rose lay thinking about the story that the Doctor had told her.

All those friends of the Doctor, friends of hers; he had said that they were called the 'Children of Time'. She should have been there, standing beside him. But she'd been deep inside the Heart of the TARDIS. Why hadn't she been woken up for that? It was exactly what she could have been used for!

That Dalek army that Rose had destroyed when first stepping into this world was a new level of threat, but not for Rose. There were more still out there, that she knew for certain as she connected with the entire universe through Bad Wolf. But how to make everything right again? She didn't care at the moment about the Daleks or their leader Davros still being alive and well. No, Rose cared that the Doctor was carrying the deaths of so many of his companions on his shoulders. He already had the universe there, how could he handle anymore weight?

Rose needed a plan that could change the timelines. She just didn't know how she was going to do it. Through Bad Wolf, yes, but how to change it without creating a paradox was the key to this whole world of misery going up in smoke like it had never happened. Rose Tyler needed a plan that even the Doctor couldn't see.

Slowly, Rose fell asleep alongside the Doctor, images of her saying something about the Daleks, meeting Donna, and righting the universe skipping across her dreams.

--

_Pete Tyler stood in front of Rose's desk, looking at her with searching eyes. Had she been listening to him at all? He doubted it since she currently was looking at some sort of slide under a microscope. She had said something about her DNA being different, though she didn't know how or even why she knew it was different since she'd never been tested as an alien before._

"_Rose, honey, did you hear me? The Daleks have a leader that looks like he might at one time have been human. He is the creator of a stronger Dalek race, and now he's threatening to overtake everything!" Pete hesitated to tell Rose the rest of what Davros had said when he'd listened to the transmission. But it seemed that might be the only thing that could get her attention._

"_He's from your original reality." Rose tensed, pen frozen before it could write down any notes. She turned to Pete, eyes orbs of surprise and curiosity. This wasn't what she had expected. _

"_How?" When Pete told her the rest of the story and his plan to destroy the universe and how he was looking for the Doctor, neither put it together that Davros meant all universes. _

"_I'll hide our reality, send him into the Void. That should keep him busy until you can find out a better way of destroying Daleks. Then he can't do anything, much less find the Doctor." _

_And it was done, though again neither Rose nor Pete knew how. That had been happening a lot. Rose would say something, her eyes would flash with light, and it would happen. All Pete knew was that they were now safe, and Rose wasn't able to comprehend that she'd just sent Davros through to the Doctor's reality. But then again, she didn't know the power that sat within her._

--

Rose woke with a start covered in cold sweat. She was alone in bed, which she was grateful for. It would have been hard to explain to the Doctor why tears were silently running down her face.

She could have stopped it right there. Thinking on it, if Davros could come through then, she could have gone the other way and warned the Doctor before hand. But she hadn't been in tune with Bad Wolf yet, so that would have meant months to years building something that could have gotten her through realities.

Getting up to take a shower to erase any sign of the salt now drying on her cheeks, Rose's thoughts swirled and rebounded inside her head. There had been nothing after that about the Daleks, and she'd been so wrapped up in her discoveries that she didn't think about it. But she'd been so young then; how was she supposed to know that one act of Bad Wolf could change everything? She should have known.

After her shower, Rose went to the control room. The Doctor was dancing around the controls, and, when he saw her, he rushed over to envelope her in a hug. Then he was off again and so was the TARDIS as they landed in another time to save the world again.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: Sorry for the long wait! Please leave a comment, it makes me happy and gives me hope that people are reading this. My last two weeks have been... hectic to say the least. But without fail, here's the next chapter. Late.

Beta: And That Other Guy

Another escape loomed ahead of them. They'd stepped out of the TARDIS into a small community that thought that they were witches because they did not have the marks that everyone was stamped with at birth. This made the Doctor curious and had brought them to the village's governor. The governor turned out to be an alien that used the human power of the burned remains of the proclaimed 'witches' to control the village's minds. This in turn allowed him to keep the whole planet under his control. The Doctor had tried to talk his way out of it but ended up getting him and Rose separated because he knew too much.

Rose was quietly sitting in her cell waiting for the trial that would take place tomorrow at sundown, and undoubtedly she'd be found guilty. That's not what was occupying her mind now, though. Not even the idea of escape was. Ever since her talk with the Doctor about the past, Rose hadn't been the same. The Doctor had told her not to think on it because there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Those people would never come back. He could never go back.

But Rose hadn't been thinking about the deaths as the Doctor had been. She'd been more reflective about the events as a timeline. Surely there had to be a way to go back? And wasn't time just a ball that could be changed on a thought or decision? After all, the Doctor thought her coming through realities was impossible and look at her now. Granted, Rose was stuck in a cell, but in the reality that she'd been born in. The reality that she was never supposed to see again.

As night approached, Rose looked out the small window at the bonfire in the town's center. Looking into the heart of the fire, Rose saw timelines weave together and apart, as well as a golden wolf running in the embers. Narrowing her eyes, Rose followed the wolf's movement as it leaped into the fire and started tearing at the timelines she saw. From where she was, the wolf seemed to be devouring them up to a certain point, but not just one timeline, all of them across the whole of reality. Then it made eye contact with Rose and seemed to jump out of the flame and rush towards her. Rose blinked with a cry of alarm and surprise, falling backwards. The Doctor caught her.

"Not the welcome I was expecting, but then again you did seem to be in a daze." The Doctor quickly put Rose back on her feet before looking her in the eye. They were large and full of fire.

"Rose, are you alright?" The Doctor questioned, concern leaking through. Rose shook her head to clear it before she smiled brilliantly and took his hand.

"Let's get out of here and give that governor a taste of what real aliens do with their 'magic'." The Doctor's eyes softened and his concern faded, thinking that Rose must have been lost in thought when he startled her at the window. Quickly turning, they both fled the jail and ran towards the mansion where the governor lived. It would be quick work to free the village's people once the power over their minds was cut off.

Leaving the village at sunrise was a challenge for both the Doctor and Rose. The villagers had been so overwhelmed with gratitude that they had celebrated well into the night that was already late when they were told of their enslavement and release.

The small town's priestess, that had been hiding in the woods in fear and had helped the Doctor escape his own cell, came forward to say goodbye to the great travelers. Rose smiled kindly as the Doctor fidgeted through her cryptic parting words. Both wished to leave immediately, though for different reasons.

"Please return when you can. I see that you have no use of time. But know this, the way it is will not be the same when the universe is devoured and the past becomes the present. Time will flow, but the golden one will become an eddy. The days of now are numbered and only the light will remember this destroyed time."

The Doctor nodded and said a hasty goodbye before pulling Rose out of the village.

"What was that all about I wonder?" The Doctor scratched his ear in confusion, lacing fingers with Rose as they walked back to the TARDIS. Rose glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Maybe she could see that we're time travelers and thinks we need to be aware of the trouble we always seem to cause." The Doctor shrugged and shook his head. He opened the TARDIS' door for Rose and came in behind her. Turning to the console, he took the TARDIS into the Vortex before yawning.

"I do believe that you need sleep Doctor."

"Why on Earth would you say that? I am completely awake."

"Yeah, well, you just yawned so hard I heard your jaw crack, so off to bed for you. I can keep watch over everything in here for a while. You need to be healthy and lively."

Rose shooed the Doctor out of the control room with a little pushing on her part and a lot of complaining on his. Eventually, Rose had to walk him down to his room and tuck him in. He was asleep as soon as he hit the pillow.

Rose smiled softly down at him in the darkened room. Her eyes filled with tears, and she had to leave before her sobs could wake him. Running down the hallway, Rose skidded into the control room before throwing herself down on the couch to cry. This was going to be the hardest thing she ever had to do.

Wiping her eyes on her sleeve, Rose stood up and walked to the console. She set coordinates for London a little bit before the time the Doctor took Donna on as a companion. The TARDIS landed smoothly to keep the Doctor from waking, knowing what Rose was about to do.

This was Rose Tyler's plan, and if it worked then she'd be separated from the Doctor again, forced into her parallel world and into a body that she had at a different time and place. Rose Tyler had to change history and the only way to do that was to erase it first. Taking a deep breath, she began.

--

The Doctor woke up in a state of confusion. Something seemed wrong. Getting up from bed, he wondered why he was sleeping when he could be out there saving the world from something. Walking into an empty control room, he sighed. When would he find his next companion? It had only been a few weeks since he'd said goodbye to Martha.

Looking at the TARDIS' main screen, he found himself in London. And it seemed that Adipose Industries was the center of a major crisis. Or would be crisis if the Doctor couldn't think of something. Grinning from ear to ear, the Doctor ran out the doors of the TARDIS and into another adventure. He will never know that his time is not just reversed, but gone.

--

Rose nods at Donna as she walks away. Surely someone else will tell Sylvia where her keys are because Rose has so very little time left. This was the last time she'd see this reality for a while, at least in this body.

Slowly, Rose turns and walks away from the scene in front of that industry. She can hear the howl of Bad Wolf as it goes with the TARDIS and the Doctor, but it fades as she does.

Then she's ripping back into her parallel world and plunging into her past body before falling into the arms of Mickey while working in the Torchwood labs. The past was now present and nothing was going to end the same. Rose was going to make sure of that.


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Ok. Here it is. Love to everyone and apologizes for how long this took. Please read and review or it won't get any better... Again, my bad on how long this took.

_This was Rose Tyler's plan, and if it worked then she'd be separated from the Doctor again, forced into her parallel world and into a body that she had had at a different time and place. Rose Tyler had to change history, and the only way to do that was to erase it first. Taking a deep breath, she began._

_Rose let Bad Wolf flow through her completely. It took over her energy, opened the Heart of the TARDIS and walked among the timelines of every universe that is, was, and is going to be. Rose stood before the console, allowing the Bad Wolf some connection to the current reality. She was both places; inside the Heart of the TARDIS as a golden wolf and outside it as a woman who desperately wanted things made right for her love._

_The enormity of it all would have made any being cry out and their mind to shut down permanently, but Rose had seen it before. It was a song to her senses, and the timelines were the notes that ran through her head._

_The wolf inside the TARDIS' heart began to tear at all the timelines at once, even the timeline of the ship it was in. Rose's timeline doubled back on itself in the process. Everything that had been Rose's memories of searching her parallel world long after everything she'd known died were now only in her head. She locked them away so only she could ever see them._

_There was a brief moment when Rose almost erased her own timeline. But the wolf refused to and Rose knew why. If she didn't remember, if she turned back into that girl she was so long ago, if Rose hid her reality instead of doing something about the darkness, then the timelines would play out as they had to this point. No, she must remember so as to change everything. Rose Tyler had to be the one person in all of time and space to remember these nonexistent days. _

_When every timeline had been erased up to the Doctor meeting up with Donna that second time, Rose closed her eyes to the light. The TARDIS' song died down to a gentle hum that was ever present in the ship. In a couple minutes the world would rock and time would zip backwards. New timelines would appear, and the Time Lord in the next room would never know what had happened._

_Rose cried silently as she sank to the familiar grating of the control room floor. She felt a warm nose nudge her shoulder and when she looked up, she was met with her own eyes. Bad Wolf used its energy to create a realistic wolf in front of her so as to be some sort of comfort in this heart breaking moment. It would be the only one to know in this reality. They knew that together they were stronger than anything in the universe, but they had to part._

_Bad Wolf was to stay in the Heart of the TARDIS and be a warning for the Doctor of the darkness, but Rose knew that was not enough. Donna had to be warned also, though not told what she was to become. That was Rose's job. Warning and interacting with Donna would make the pieces fall together faster. It would also help prepare Donna for what she was going to do._

_Rose watched as Bad Wolf disappeared into the Heart of the TARDIS before getting up and going out into London. As soon as she exited the TARDIS, the entire universe changed and around Rose objects began to blur and turn to dust before similar things came to stand in their places. Behind her, the TARDIS disappeared only to reappear a couple blocks away right down the alley from Donna's car. _

_Rose went to look at the scene in front of her. Donna ran up and said something about keys and a bin before turning and flashing off into the night. She can hear the howl of Bad Wolf as it goes with the TARDIS and the Doctor but it fades as she does._

--

Rose woke up in sweats, eyes glowing. They would always be connected, her and Bad Wolf unless something drastic happened. Shaking her head, Rose flopped back down only to have her alarm go off. Groaning at the irony of it all, she gets up to go to Torchwood and try and finish what she started so she could get back to the Doctor. Her Doctor.

She'd done what she had to do, her dream a memory of time gone. Now things could be better in both this and the other universe. It was surreal waking up to find her mother fussing over her and Pete trying to shoo her away. Rose had laughed out loud and hugged her mother tightly, thinking that she'd never get another chance like this again.

Right now all she wanted to do was get back to the man whom she would kill a thousand Daleks for, and had twice. So off to Torchwood she trekked, unsure of how her day would end this time.

Somewhere in another galaxy through a reality wall and the slowly fading Void, Donna Noble was wandering around a bazaar and about to have her fortune told…


	5. Chapter 5

Rose had had no idea how Donna would do it, but she knew that this version of her was going to die and that scared her to think of how fragile Donna was. She'd left immediately after giving her the warning that would ignite the Doctor into action and send the words Bad Wolf back into the universe. It would soon be time to go to the Doctor herself and she wanted to be prepared. Plus, Rose knew that out of the Children of Time she would be the one to protect the Noble's.

It was crazy back in her world. Almost all the stars were gone and she couldn't tell anyone why though she knew exactly what was happening. Rose had to play dumb so as to not cause any more static in the timelines. They were currently warping in and out at rapid intervals, all crossing and diverging on Donna. Rose only hoped that none of them went out for good.

Before setting out to find Donna's family, Rose made her Mum promise that she wasn't going to do anything stupid, like following her. Little Tony needed her and just yesterday she'd found out she was pregnant again. Her Mum refused to make any such statement and Rose left her with Mickey, feeling that she was bound to see her mother on the other side of that reality wall.

Rose was the perfect actress throughout the entire battle. Seeing the Doctor again had brought tears to her eyes, those weren't faked, but saying that she didn't know what was going on with the stars going out was a bold faced lie. But the Doctor believed her and that was all that mattered.

It was hard when she saw the TARDIS almost explode in the Crucible's core, even when she knew that things were going to end up all right. It wasn't that Rose was worried about. The Doctor had said that Jack and himself had been cut off from the rest. Would that still happen even though she'd be there along side him?

When the moment came, Rose realized that this is the way time was supposed to have unraveled itself. The Dalek Sarah Jane and herself had pushed out of the way stopped a beam from cutting off the path to the TARDIS. If Sarah Jane had been here by herself, the Dalek would have been at the wrong place to deflect the beam away from the group by just a mere space.

But this is where the timelines really were supposed to change drastically. Rose's had right when she'd gone back, but this is where everyone lived. Just this once, everyone lived. Yet she felt like she was dying as some things became clear and the past seemed to repeat itself.

Again she stood on the beach of Bad Wolf Bay, only this time there are two Doctors and the original doesn't know that if she reconnects with the Bad Wolf in the TARDIS' heart she will live as long as he does. Rose dares not to tell him, instead pushing for the answer her Doctor gave her in an absent future, somehow knowing that he won't say it in this timeline.

"Does it really need saying?"

The other Doctor can say it because he's human, allowed to love her. Allowed everything the original can't have because he doesn't know the truth. He leaves her there, without a word, and Rose believes she will never see him again. She is no longer Bad Wolf, that is inside the TARDIS and when the walls close she believes so will her connection.

Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, feels a cool hand grasp hers. Turning, she finds the man she never meant to hurt yet has by running after his creator. He's the same man though. Rose realizes that straight away, and she will love him until her dying day.

"I thought I wanted the traveling, the adventure, back. But what I've really wanted was you and you gave me that." Rose squeezes the Doctor's hand, _her_ Doctor's hand. For that's what he is, a gift from what once was her other half.

But he's no longer an immortal, and neither is she. They are two parts of a very complicated whole. They follow Jackie back to Pete and little Tony, planning the things they never thought they could have together.


	6. Chapter 6

_Five weeks later:_

The Doctor weeps in his room for something he, in essence, has. He can love her and be with her until forever. But that's him, that's the Doctor who has that life. Suddenly the Time Lord with his Big Blue Box feels like the Nameless Man because what made him that title is across the stars and unreachable, sleeping snugly with the man he once was.

----------

Rose Marion Smith, wife of Doctor John Noble Smith, Defender of the Earth, and a woman who is up at five in the morning hoping that a miracle will be realized today. Looking at herself in the mirror, she realizes that she has changed into something more with her Doctor than she could have ever been without him.

It's all she can do not to scream when she sees what it says. Then Rose is throwing herself onto the bed that her husband is currently asleep in, shaking him and yelling his name.

"Doctor. Oh for all the times to not be a morning person. WAKE UP!" The Doctor turns just his head in his wife's direction, barely opening one of his eyes. They had been married just over a month but Rose knew that at least she had his attention.

Rose leaned down and whispered her news in his ear before sitting back and watching him digest the news. With a squeak of surprise, she fell back into the quilt as the Doctor went from lying down to standing on top of their bed without any in-between.

"Say that again."

"You're going to be a dad!"

The Doctor jumps from the bed, lifting Rose and spinning her around before racing into the bathroom to see the results for himself. The rest of the day is spent searching for houses, calling relatives, and arguing with Jackie about getting their own place.

_Nine months later:_

The Doctor can't seem to function correctly still. He keeps thinking it's some awful dream and when he wakes he won't be alone. The pain in his chest is now a dull ache. He wanders London looking for something to remove his mind from his problems.

There's the sound of an explosion from the alley on his left and his day seems to get a little better when a girl tumbles out of it. She looks up at him and says that there's these big green monsters following her, and could he help?

It may not have been the way he wanted to distract himself, but meeting Kim Hunter would do.

----------

Rose was going to kill him. She didn't care if he didn't regenerate as long as he felt the same level of pain that she did at the moment it would be worth it.

"You are NEVER allowed to touch me again!" The Doctor winced as Rose gripped his hand tighter at the word 'never'. He was pretty sure he heard something crack too. The nurses smiled at him and he smiled warily back.

It had seemed perfect at the time, bringing a baby into this world. But then came the sonogram and the realization that this baby girl was going to be a Time Lord: regeneration, slow ageing, everything but the double hearts. It was a fact; the Doctor had looked at his daughter's DNA himself. Still, anything that made Rose scream like this at him couldn't be good could it?

But when the Doctor held her, saw Rose hold her, he knew that this life was what they had wanted and wasted no time producing. He curled around both his girls as they cooed at each other.

"What do we name her?" Rose asked softly, her eyes never leaving the baby in her arms.

"I was thinking… Well, since it really took three of us to create her. A complicated whole and all… I think we should call her Trinity. The union of three in one little, tiny person."

"That sounds perfect."

_Five years later:_

Running down a narrow hallway towards his companion, he yells at her to make for the TARDIS. The Doctor is currently fleeing for his life as a werewolf image from a 25th century virtual game bears down on him. Rounding the corner he sees the open door at the end of the hall, his companion standing before it stiff with shock, gripping the handle. He barrels down the hall and when he's in the room, realizes that Sammy is still in the hallway. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulls her into the room before barring the door and ending the game.

Once everything is over and done with, Sammy thanks him for saving her life but the Doctor doesn't seem to hear her even though he nods. Sammy is quiet and brunette, yet he can't help but replace her image with a spunky blonde. Will this ache ever leave him?

----------

"No, no, no, that's not food! Are you trying to get me in hot water with your mother?" Rose laughs quietly to herself at the sounds of her Doctor trying to keep their daughter from getting into to much trouble. But, like her father, Trinity has a habit of putting things in her mouth that don't belong there. Rose only became concerned when she hears a grunt over a giggle, then a thud of someone hitting the ground.

Drying her hands on a towel, Rose peeks around the corner into the living room. Her Doctor had said he could handle Trinity all by himself while she did the dishes, but seeing the scene before her, Rose can't help but laugh at his obvious misfortune.

Walking over, she takes the small, plastic cricket bat of Mickey's from her daughter before putting her in her playpen. She giggles softly as she kneels beside her Doctor, brushing his hair out of his closed eyes as he takes a couple deep breaths. She kisses his temple before going to bring him some ice.

"Trinity Jenny Smith, didn't I tell you that if you kept swinging that thing around it was going to hit Daddy in the nuts?"

_15 years later:_

"Where to now Doc?" Jack asks once they are in the Vortex. He's been the only one to stay with the Doctor for longer than a year. He's working on three at the moment.

"Anywhere. You choose," the Doctor replied in a monotone. He never did get over leaving that parallel world and Rose to that other him. But this life was one that he had to lead alone and Rose was happy. The Doctor supposes that's all that matters.

----------

"MUM!"

"ROSE!"

Rose Smith, now some forty odd years old with gray in her hair, stood from her desk at the top of Torchwood tower, phone to her ear as she tried to make out everything her daughter was saying as her father babbled in the background. Both seemed relatively ecstatic over something they'd been working on in the basement labs. Quickly cutting the conversation short, Rose ran to the lifts to see what they could possible be doing down there.

Once Rose is off the lift a young girl who looks about nine comes running up to her, long brown hair falling into her deep honey colored eyes. Her father soon follows, both trying to tell Rose about what they've done at the same time.

"Hold it! All right, Trinity why don't you show me while Dad explains? Come on, where's this thing you two have been working on since last Christmas?"

They've built a present for her. Well, it's given to Rose but it's for the Doctor to use when he goes out to save the world. It seems it takes more than a reality to keep the Doctor and his sonic screwdriver apart.


	7. Chapter 7

_Turn the page to the deathbed of Jackie Tyler. She has outlived her husband by three years and is surrounded by family in the hospital, her heart slowly giving out. Two sons, John and Tony, and two daughters, Rose and Lillian, stand at the bed's sides in the faint light as a young child slumbers at the end of the bed; Jackie's first grandchild, Trinity. There is also another in the room, a man standing in shadows by the door. He is far older than any by the bedside, yet he looks forty, forty-five at the oldest. Doctor John Smith, head of Torchwood._

"Mum. Oh mum, I don't know what to do. What do we tell Trinity?" Lillian was in tears about her niece. Rose almost sighed out loud. Her younger sister had never handled emotional situations well; she always fell to pieces.

"We tell him the truth, that's what we do. She's a big girl now; she should know that her Granny went to be with Pop-pop. I've never been one for sugar coating the truth Lily."

Even in old age, Jackie Tyler was not one to be battled with. She ruled the roost and now that it was time to pass on the scepter to Tony, who was here this time Rose thought, she would after parting words of action and fire.

Lillian nodded and looked to John. He was just gently holding his mother's hand, hoping to calm her nerves just like their dad used to when she got angry. Tony stood off to the side with John. Jackie turned her head to him and looked him in the eye.

"You, Tony Tyler, are going to have to take care of this girl for me, understand? I don't want to have to come back and haunt your arse because you're not doing as your told."

"Yes, Mum."

"All right, then. Take the little one and get to your respective homes. You've probably worried Leanne half to death being here so late, John. And her being pregnant! Go, your old mother will be fine."

Lillian kissed her mother's brow and looked at Rose with tears in her eyes. Rose nodded to her and watched as her brother John squeezed his mother's hand before going towards the door, also.

"Time to go. You'll look after her, won't you Rosey?" John asked, using the nickname from when he was little. Rose nodded before smiling slightly.

"You heard Mum, time to get going."

"Tony can stay and look after her. Trinity should probably get home. Are you really sure that you want to stay?" Lillian asked, worried for Rose. Rose and Tony shared a look. Lillian always wanted to be Trinity's protector.

"Yes. Now go. I've got her now."

As her siblings left, Rose moved into the shadows around Jackie's bed to stand next to her Doctor. Even though Jackie had seen her daughter age, when Rose stood next to the Doctor Jackie saw a nineteen year old who had just come back from work.

"How you doing Mum?" Tony questioned quietly as he took the space his brother had previously occupied.

"It's just, everything seemed to work out alright didn't it?" Jackie reached out her hand, and Rose grabbed it and held on tight, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah it did. Think of the good times, yeah? You'll get to see dad tonight."

"So eager to get rid of me?"

"No. I just want you to be happy, Mum. And since Pete died, you haven't been."

Jackie's eyes closed as she nodded, softly whispering Pete's name. Rose knew that this was the sleep she would never wake up from. Rose bent and whispered into her mother's ear the only words she could find, an echo from her memory.

"I love you, Mum. From now until the end of time."

And with that, Jackie was gone. The heart monitor went flat, and Rose hurtled backwards into her Doctor's arms. He held her gently as Tony closed his mother's eyes before scooping up his niece and walking out of the room. Rose and her Doctor followed.

"Time to get home Rose. This young one isn't ready to be woken up just yet."

The Doctor took his daughter from her uncle's arms and took Rose's hand. Together they walked out into the night, both knowing that when Trinity awoke she'd expect an explanation. After all, she was much older than she looked.


	8. Chapter 8

_Many years after the second departure at Bad Wolf Bay:_

Three years earlier, Trinity Smith had lost her father in the very same hospital. She shooed her uncles Tony and John from the room, as well as her aunt Lillian. Now she sat at the edge of her mother's bed, looking barely any older than sixteen, and smiled. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Bad Wolf howled. This was the time she'd been waiting for and had seen coming since she was old enough to understand the timelines in her head.

"What is it about Tyler women outliving their husbands by three years?" Trinity asked her mother quietly, who chuckled in response. Rose looked at her daughter through old eyes; her brown orbs having turned dull three years ago.

"It's a family trait I suppose. What will you do now Ty? I hate to leave you alone like this."

"Dad always told me today would come. I'm ready for it finally Mum. I won't be alone in the universe like Daddy said I would though. I'm going to have a friend." Rose looked at Trinity and could see something glowing behind her eyes and hear a song long silenced. It made her gasp in surprise.

She thought she'd left Bad Wolf to another universe, but here it was shining out of her daughter. Rose had never thought that anything of that nature would pass on. She thought she was Bad Wolf and that was it.

Trinity could see the shock in her mother's eyes. It was time for her to be going soon, but for how long? Trinity supposed that she'd have to keep the nurses from entering so they wouldn't get hurt. With a sigh she got up and went to lock the door, pulling her sonic screwdriver from the pocket of the brown trench coat made specially by her father.

"Mum, I'm going to be fine. And I want you to know, that this was always meant to happen. I can see the timelines, how yours doubles up, and the enormous sacrifice you made for Dad. Because that's who he is; they were always the same person." Trinity turned to find tears running down Rose's face. Trinity quickly went to her mother's side and took her hand.

"Oh Mum. Shhh, I'm sorry. He's your Doctor too, I know. But he means I'm not alone. It means that everything is good now and you did the right thing all those years ago though I don't have a clear view of it. You and Daddy died so young because you're fantastic and the world couldn't hold you any longer."

"See, I've figured it out. The Doctor is no longer alone. I'm here now. But I need a way to connect with him and show him what I am." Trinity pulled a small, velvet bag out of her jacket and handed it over to Rose. It clinked as if filled with stones and when it was opened, Rose saw bright, glowing blue crystals. Memory crystals are what Trinity had called them when she first came home with one. She'd made it as a reminder of her Granny and Pop-pop Tyler right after Jackie had died. It was a way to record her memories and not have to worry about them fading.

"These are from Daddy. The Doctor hasn't met me yet. But he will and when he does I'm going to allow him to share in my life from his own perspective. Then I really can call him Dad. Not that he could ever replace the man who gave me life."

Rose nodded, so impressed that her daughter had been able to think this all through so carefully. But why was she surprised? Trinity was the daughter of the Doctor of course she was going to be brilliant. Rose began to feel herself slipping away from her daughter though. It was as if she suddenly became very tired. Trinity saw her eyes slip and bent to whisper in her ear.

"I want you to know Mum, you were fantastic in this life. You did so much to save the universe that no one will ever know. I'll keep the memories hidden. Now it's time for you to shine brighter than the sun."

Trinity backed away from the bed, unhooking Rose from the machines and turning them off. Even though she knew what was going to happen, she didn't want to ever hear a flat-line when the machine was attached to her own mother. Trinity held her breath as Rose's chest ceased to rise and fall.

That's when the song started to get stronger. That's when she started burning brighter than a sun. That's when Rose Smith began her transformation back into Bad Wolf, Defender of the Earth and Heart of the TARDIS.

Trinity smiled through her tears as a white light enveloped her mother like a ribbon. It was almost as if she were a butterfly about to burst from her cocoon. And burst from the light Rose did when it grew to surround the bed. Stumbling out of it came Rose Tyler, looking as if she'd just turned back the last fifty years of her life. She was still seventy-five years old but she looked twenty.

Golden-brown locks of hair fell around her face and her eyes slowly turned from dull brown to glowing, finally resting on a dark honey color. They shined with confusion as she shook her head and caught Trinity's eye.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Trinity just laughed before taking the four strides to wrap her shocked mother in a hug.


	9. Chapter 9

"So I regenerated? But I thought only Time Lords could do that and I'm no Time Lord. I'm just human." Rose ignored the tea in front of her as Trinity sighed. She had been trying to explain to Rose why she hadn't died like any normal human would have at the end of their life.

"You didn't exactly regenerate. Its all Bad Wolf's doing, well, your doing I suppose. You create yourself and when you were about to die you were reborn. More like a phoenix than a Time Lord."

"And you've known how long that I was going to do this?"

"When could I start controlling my insomnia and urge to jump at the stars? When I was about, seven I think right? About the same time."

"Why you little… I don't even know what to say. Here I was, living day after day and you knew that it wasn't going to end like your father's story. I was going to be go be with him you know."

"Song."

"Sorry? Song what?"

"Daddy's song not story. You needed this life Mum, both of you did. A life he could never have with the woman who'd done the impossible. It's a musical score, not some fairytale because songs are woven into the fabric of time where stories turn to dust when the pages do."

Rose nodded her understanding. Trinity was so very much like her father sometimes that it was hard not to look at her and see him. Doctor John Smith. The Doctor of this reality. Her Doctor. The one that gave up his memories to make her happy and who would always be in her heart.

"He knew. And he was fine with it. After all, he wasn't going to just drift after he died. I bet you that the Doctor in your reality has some vague clues about what's gone on here over the years. And you can thank Dad for that one."

"And you, young lady, can stay out of my head." Trinity resisted the urge to stick her tongue out. There was a minute of silence around the small café's table before Trinity decided to go ahead and tell her mother what they had to do with their time left here. Because if Trinity had her way, she'd have her family back together and could be the kid she wanted to be.

Sometimes she cursed the slow aging process of humans. It meant that she had to grow up though she only felt about eight in Time Lord years. She wanted to skip in the glow of the moons on Jakin and play in a field of flowers on the planet Neblue.

"Mum, we have to go back. We have to find the Doctor and show him that he's not alone. I have this feeling that if we don't something terrible is going to happen to him. The Doctor really never got over leaving you."

The eyes of the two Smith girls met over the table. Both stood and made their way back to their loft, a silent agreement in the air. They were going back to Rose's original reality but they would need supplies. It would do them a world of good to get everything Trinity had set up specifically for today.

She had helped her dad build the components of a reality cannon, though when the components were separate they were simple alien devices. She had built most of them with her Dad, though he was constantly worried about her safety. He had always refused to take her out even after they got use of the Torchwood spaceship used for intergalactic treaties.

"I'll need to assemble this somewhere that can withstand the blast and the self-destruct so no one can follow us. I was thinking that Torchwood Four outpost in the Pacific. It's been abandoned for years when they couldn't find Atlantis. Which is silly to think about, seeing as Atlantis wasn't a city it was a planet that had gone missing. And now we know where it went! Stupid Davros and his silly engine. Really did he not know it would affect other planets when he moved those twenty-seven?"

A small smile graced Rose's lips as she collected the assortment of tools and appliances that her daughter had created as Trinity rambled on. This was the life she turned her back on standing on the beach when the original Doctor left. But now she could never go back to the slow path. It wasn't written in the stars for her to. Her and Ty were going to go save the Doctor, maybe even the universe.

With a laugh at her own thoughts and a glance from her daughter, Rose went to her old room and took a look around. She knew it was in here somewhere.

Trinity impatiently waited for her mother in the front hall. She didn't want to waste any time finding the man who was and wasn't her father. But as Rose walked out of her room, a look of awe came over Trinity's face.

Rose Smith stood in a dark purple jacket with a dark pink shirt showing underneath it, black pants hugging her legs. Her pose and face were set to an expression that meant her mind was made up. This was the Defender of Earth Trinity's father used to tell her stories about.

This was Rose Tyler.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor was ready for it all to end. His current companion was Captain Jack Harkness, and even he was getting tired of the adventures and saving the universe day after day. The Doctor never slowed down for rest, going from one thing to the other wearing himself thin.

"Doc, why don't we head back to Earth for awhile. See how Torchwood Six is coming along." The Doctor nodded and set the coordinates. As the TARDIS warped, a bright golden light illuminated the central column. The TARDIS jerked and both its occupants were thrown to the floor.

"What was that?" Jack yelled as they spun uncontrolled through time and space.

"No idea!" The Doctor yelled back, trying to find enough footing to even reach the console. But as suddenly as it began, it stopped.

"That was weird." Jack said, dusting himself off. The Doctor nodded, patting the TARDIS console and murmuring in his native language. He could already tell that this stop wasn't going to be the same as the ones before it.

----------

"Righto… No. That doesn't sound right does it? Alrighty then! Nope still too much… Oh well, let's begin shall we?" Trinity had used a warp circuit from Torchwood to come to, what she called for lack of a better name, Home Base. This was where she could build, and destroy, the reality cannon.

Rose unloaded everything from her bag then sat to watch her daughter work. Questions filled her head. What would she say to the Doctor when she saw him again? Maybe she should let Trinity lead the way, since she was the one with all the memories in a bag. But would the Doctor accept them? Or force them back into a world where it was 'safer'?

She stretched out her arms in front of her and looked at her hands. Rose had become young and healthy but couldn't help feeling guilty. Her husband had died just three years ago, and here she was, running to another man. Maybe this was wrong, even if he himself said it was right. Maybe only Trinity should go; after all she was the Time Lord here. But could Rose again give up the Doctor? She done it so often…

No. It was a simple choice really. It was time for her to be so very selfish and that's what kept her, in essence, human. Her willingness to allow her emotions to control her actions was always what kept her going and kept the Doctor coming back for her. Now came the difficult questions though.

Could she accept him? This wasn't the man who had raised Trinity or had held her hand through the death of her mother. The man on the other side of the Void was a stranger now. Rose was startled out of her thoughts by a hand entering her vision.

"Ready Mum?"

Rose took Trinity's hand and hoisted herself up. Yes, she would accept him because he was still the Doctor. That's why she accepted her Doctor so quickly and that's why she would still take the original's hand if he offered it to her.

"I hope you know what you're doing. It won't do to have this thing explode." Trinity rolled her eyes.

"Of course I know what I'm doing. This is what I was meant to do after all. Travel the universe in search of danger, risk life and limb for the good of everything, and blast my way into a parallel world for the heck of it."

"You're just like your father."

"I know. Now hold on to something, this could get a little bumpy."


	11. Chapter 11

With a crack and a whirl of smoke, Rose and Trinity Smith tumbled from the remains of a splintered pod. It had done its duty and hurled them through realities without too much damage to the scar above Cardiff. Nothing a couple days wouldn't fix anyway.

"That was your plan? Slingshot us from one galaxy to the next without a way to land? You could have at least installed barf-bags." Rose told her daughter as they both lay on the grass staring at the sky, trying to keep air in their lungs and their stomachs from coming out of their mouths.

"I didn't know it was going to be THAT bumpy! If I did, there would have been seats in that blasted pod. And why in this galaxy would I install barf-bags mother?"

"You got your motion sickness from someone young lady and it definitely wasn't your father!"

Rose stood unsteadily, offering a hand to Trinity. She had never been sick in the TARDIS, but any other vehicle made her lunch come up. Traveling to and from Norway was the worst. And it turned out that like mother, like daughter.

"Right, where are we and how do we start?"

Rose looked around her, hoping to answer her daughter's question. She didn't know the year but it looked as if they were in Cardiff near the Rift. Rose turned in a complete circle, making sure that nothing seemed drastically out of place.

"Right, well it looks like we're in Cardiff near the Rift. And if we're near the Rift that means we're near Torchwood. And where Torchwood is, Jack is so lets get going."

Trinity nodded having no idea who Jack was other than her cousin. She had heard he'd been named after someone from one of Dad's stories, but she never found out. Quietly, she followed her mother towards unrecognizable buildings. Trinity trusted her mother completely to find the Doctor and get them to the TARDIS, a place she'd never been but considered to be a home away from home already.

Rose halted as she came to the doors of Torchwood. They were public now it would seem, but she was still anxious about going in and asking around. She didn't know the year and she currently had an alien alongside her. If they still claimed that everything alien was theirs then Rose should have been running as fast as she could in the other direction with Trinity.

Rose's musing were cut short as the doors opened and a tall, black haired woman stepped from the building. When she saw Rose, her mouth dropped and she froze. Shaking her head back and forth seemed to be the only movement she could do. Rose smiled slightly before stepping forward, Trinity as close as a shadow.

"Hello Gwen Cooper."

"You're… But that's not possible unless. Oh my God, the world is ending again isn't it? This isn't good, this is not good at all."

"The world isn't ending actually. In fact, quite the opposite really. Hello, Trinity Smith, daughter of the woman in front of you. Is there a Jack around?"

Rose looked at Trinity as she questioned the frantic woman in front of them. The woman who she was speaking to looked her up and down before turning back to Rose.

"My name is Janet, my mother is Gwen. We look a lot alike. Jack should be coming back from a lifetime of adventures today. He rang in about twenty minutes ago and said he was on his way back. He's been traveling with the Doctor."

Trinity's mouth dropped as she looked at her mother. Rose didn't seem fazed by this news at all. Everything was just falling together so easily that it seemed impossible. Of course, Trinity had had the impossible for breakfast that morning.

"So, we show up and the Doctor is about thirty paces from where we landed?"

"Ty, when you've been with the Doctor as long as I have you realize that there is no such thing as coincidences. This was probably the doing of Bad Wolf or the TARDIS. They know we're here and they want us home. Besides, it's too easy and that means trouble, which follows the Doctor like a plague."

"You really are Rose Tyler aren't you?" Janet asked in awe. "My mother has a picture of you and Jack. She never told me why; just that it was a gift from Uncle Jack and that she was going to hold onto it until it faded to where it couldn't be seen anymore because Jack said it'd be useful. I was just leaving work, but I think you might need my… assistance. Come on, I'll take you into my office."

Rose and Trinity walked into the building, following their link to an unsuspecting future. Rose walked the semi-familiar paths that seemed to run wild with memories while Trinity was in a state of pure curiosity for things she'd never experienced. They were so different and yet, as they sat side by side in Janet's office, they couldn't help but think the same thing.

What would the Doctor think when he saw them?


	12. Chapter 12

"Come on now Doctor, even I know that isn't a normal response to the set coordinates." Jack was currently in a state of annoyance. He thought the Doctor was playing dumb and not answering him when he had asked about the mysterious glow around the center column.

"I really don't know Jack. It's never happened before. It's like something connected with the TARDIS but didn't show up on any scans or readouts. As if the thing didn't happen or exist in time or space."

The Doctor was at the end of his rope. He'd been more frantic than usual, stepping out into the unknown not with curiosity, but with the thought that maybe this time would be the last. His normally cool demeanor was about as frazzled as his hair had become from running his hand through it too much.

It had started about the time Jack came back on board. To be more precise, it had stopped about the time the good Captain returned. The Doctor had been having dreams of a life with Rose, all the ups and downs of aging and raising a daughter. A daughter that the Doctor never saw except from the corner of his eye and only heard in a whisper in the dreams. It was if Fate was hiding her from him, which to the Doctor seemed absurd. It was only a dream, why would he not be able to see a figment of his imagination?

That was three years ago. The dreams stopped abruptly, as if a light had been put out in the darkness. The Doctor started sleeping more in hope of them returning, but they never did. So he started to spend hours trying to remember the specifics of everything that had happened. It became his obsession and as it grew, so did his antics of recklessness. He'd worried Jack multiple times and knew it.

But he couldn't stop. Around the time Jack started commenting on his behavior it hadn't gotten all that bad yet. But the Doctor started to think that maybe there was more to the dreams. Maybe they were from a parallel him and the reason it was cut off was that Rose was in trouble. That's when the Doctor began to be driven into a slight madness, knowing there was nothing he could do if she was.

"Come on Jack. Time to get back to Torchwood and it's generation of alien hunters."

Jack nodded, looking back at the center column as he walked out the door. That light had seemed so familiar, but he knew that nothing was more impossible than the woman it reminded him of. She'd be long past the age of running headlong into danger by now.

Ever watchful of the Doctor, Jack led him to Torchwood Six. Janet had rung him and told him to hurry back because she had something he should see. As much as he was confused, Jack was excited. New things always had the effect on him. Strutting straight through Torchwood's main doors, Jack and the Doctor waited silently for the lift. Neither knew what lay ahead of them.

Rose was pacing and it was beginning to annoy Trinity. Was she like this when she was nervous? Hopefully not or she would annoy herself. Janet had run out after a call from the front desk. Apparently, Jack and the Doctor had just arrived.

"Mum. Sit. Down!" Rose stopped and turned towards Trinity, hands hanging limply at her sides. She didn't know what to do. The Doctor was a man of no second chances, would that apply to her too?

"I can't Ty! He's out there. Doesn't even know that I'm alive and well and so very much able to keep a promise I made years ago. I need him and I can't help but think that after all this time, maybe he won't see me the same."

"Of course he will Mum. He may not be the same man, but things of the heart don't change that easily. Just breathe and things will be fine."

Rose nodded. She was being paranoid. Just as she was about to sit down though, she heard him outside the door and she froze. Slowing turning towards the door, Rose held her breath as it opened.

"What do you mean that it's a surprise? You can't possibly have anything I want…"

Rose and the Doctor locked eyes and all of time and space shook as silence overtook the room.


	13. Chapter 13

Jack and the Doctor exited the lift, only to be bombarded by Janet Cooper. She blocked their way and demanded to see Jack in private. The Doctor had always thought she was a sweet girl and quite enjoyed her company, but at the moment he wanted to be anywhere else.

As Jack followed Ms. Cooper into a different office, the Doctor went and sat in one of the random chairs littering the control room of Torchwood. He flung his feet onto a nearby desk, closing his eyes. He was tired and old and a little insane. The TARDIS having an unexplained act of warping Time Vortex just made him that more crazy. She was his home and his only companion most of the time.

Jack was right when he said that something wasn't kosher with the TARDIS. But the Doctor didn't want to admit that. It meant admitting that he'd been driving her too hard, pushing her to take him into things that were more dangerous, and more life threatening.

And that would mean admitting that the ache he felt everyday was more than a dull pinch that had healed with time. It meant admitting his broken heart was still bleeding and still burned with an intensity that could make stonewalls crumble.

_Burning up a sun just to say goodbye…_

The Doctor shook his head and leaned back. After a minute, the Doctor could feel someone looming over him. Opening his eyes, he yelped and sat up not realizing that Jack had been so close.

"You need to immediately go to Janet's office. There's a surprise in there for you."

"Cryptic. What could possibly be in there for me?"

"Something you want Doctor. Just trust me. You really need this. Plus, if I told you it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." There was a twinkle in Jack's eye and the Doctor felt that he was being set up. He didn't need anything and he certainly didn't want anything that they could give him.

"What do you mean that it's a surprise? You can't possibly have anything I want…"

The Doctor and Rose locked eyes and all of time and space shook as silence overtook the room.


	14. Chapter 14

"No."

It was a simple statement of denial; The Doctor had used it often in fact. Never did he think he would use it to disprove that just the sight of her made everything right again though. Never did he think that it would hurt so much just to ignore the facts and believe that this was all a dream. Because that's what it had to be. Because Rose Tyler could not be standing there in any sort of real time. Because he couldn't make himself believe in the impossible anymore.

Rose knew that this had to be hard for the Doctor. His eyes had glazed over for the briefest of moments before turning cold as ice and hard as marble. It wasn't that she wanted to be angry, but when that simple declaration of refusal left his lips she wanted to stomp her foot.

"I come all this way and all I get is a no?"

"You're not really here and I'm just refusing to let myself divulge in a fantasy."

"But I am here Doctor. It's me. Defender of the Earth and everything on it. Your Rose. You took my hand and told me to run and I haven't looked back since. Do you remember that? Our first meeting?"

"Stop it. Just stop it." The Doctor pushed the heels of his hands to his eyes, hoping to push this illusion back into the depths of his blackened soul where it could fester as it had been.

"Why can't you look at me? Why can't you believe that I'm really here? I came all this way to get back to you. I know it's selfish, but it was the easiest choice I've ever made. I came back for you Doctor and I'm not going to allow myself to be pushed away. Not this time."

Rose stepped forward and grabbed the Doctor by the wrists, pulling his hands from his eyes. She'd come back to him and she wouldn't be stopped by anything, much less him. The Doctor looked her in the eye and saw everything he thought he'd lost so long ago. He could see all of time and space in those eyes and he timidly brought a hand up to touch Rose's cheek. He could feel her love radiating from her like heat.

Then he hit his knees as the tears came.

"Shhhh, my Doctor. Please don't cry. I'm here now. Nothing can pull us apart again," Rose softly cooed as she knelt to hold the sobbing Time Lord. He was her life and she could never leave him, never again.

Rose moved to help the Doctor up just as sirens started going off. Jack was in the doorway just as soon.

"Doctor! It's the bats again. They're…" Jack never got to finish his sentence because with a flash of green light that filled the room and a cry from Rose, the Doctor was gone.

"What just happened?" Rose yelled over the sirens. She turned around to grab Trinity, only to find her missing as well.

"Jack Harkness you bloody well better tell me what's going on because I'm missing both a Doctor and a daughter now!"

Jack stared open mouthed at Rose. Daughter?


	15. Chapter 15

"These things look half-bat, half-human. They have this extra piece of skin under their arms and a snout verses a proper nose. Me and the Doc ran into them some time back and they vowed revenge on him for saving the planet they were about to devour."

Jack and Rose hurried through Torchwood as he explained the basics. After getting over his initial shock, the Captain realized that of course Rose would have children with the second Doctor. It would be the natural process of things once she was left in that parallel world again. What he didn't understand was why these bats had beamed her up also.

"They have this laser that can transfer anyone at anytime if they have a bit of their DNA to program it with. It's very basic though. How did they get some of Trinity's DNA?" Rose went pale. The Doctor didn't know Trinity was a Time Lord. He didn't even know she was his daughter!

"She's a Time Lord. They must not of known that there were others in the room and didn't try to direct their beam to only pick up the Doctor. Jack, if I loose her I'll never forgive myself."

"Don't worry Rose. We're not going to let that happen."

----------

The Doctor found himself in a grand hall that seemed to come out of some Viking fairytale. The only light came from various fluttering lights, which he assumed were candles hanging from the walls. Hovering in front of him stood what appeared to be a young woman, though she definitely wasn't Rose.

"I am quite sure that I wasn't in your original plans was I?" Trinity asked the alien in front of her. She'd always been spooked by bats at Halloween but she couldn't let her fear show now. She stood her ground in front of the man called the Doctor, who still was on his knees with tears drying salty on his cheeks.

"You were not young one. Yet, you stand in front of and protect this man?"

"I do."

"Then you shall suffer the same fate as he. Doctor, rise and look at the one you've subjected to death!"

The Doctor stood rather wobbly before he began to laugh, startling Trinity and the court before him. It wasn't joyful or humorous; the Doctor's laugh had turned slightly insane as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Oh dear. Oh my. Could things get any more ironic? My TARDIS is having problems, I'm being haunted by delusions of the woman I love, and this young lady is going to die because of me and I don't even know her name. What do you plan to do when I don't die, hmm? Just going to throw me in some cell and watch me age?" The Doctor's manic laugh echoed around the hall sending chills down everyone's spines. Soon the laughter turned to sobs.

"I've lost her again. All over again. I should have believed immediately. She was there and now I'll never be able to tell her the truth with my own lips." Trinity carefully scooted closer to the Doctor as he doubled over as if in pain. He'd lost his mind somewhere along the way and she had a feeling that this was not the time to completely break.

"Doctor, please breathe. I need you here to help me. I can't do this on my own. I was always with…" Everything went dark as the guards shot both father and daughter with tranquilizer and carried them off to the dungeons.

When Trinity awoke, she was not in a position that was conducive to escaping. First, she'd shed her coat when they were in Janet's office so she was down one sonic screwdriver. Second, she had no idea where she was within the ship. Third, the Doctor was in the cell across the way still unconscious.

"Crap! This is not how this was supposed to happen. Doctor. Doctor… DOCTOR! Oh for the love of… wake up!"

Trinity started simple enough as she tried to get the Doctor's attention, just yelling at him from across the way. When that didn't work, she resorted to throwing small stones that littered the floor of her cell. Maybe she wasn't on a ship after all? Slowly, the Doctor started coming too.

"Finally! Do you know how hard it is to wake you up? Normally it just takes staring at you for a few seconds and you're up! Geez…" Trinity ranted as the Doctor tried to clear his head by shaking it. That only seemed to make him groan.

"Where am I?"

"As far as I can tell, we're stuck on a ship. Or we were but I think they transferred us to a cell on some planet due to the fact that dirt and rocks now surround us. And I highly doubt those things are found on an alien spacecraft."

"Right. And who are you? You seem to know me."

Trinity looked at the Doctor through the metal bars of her prison. Her honey eyes sparkled in a way that was reminiscence of her mother, though the Doctor couldn't place it. His mind and memory was too clouded by drugs, depression, and slight insanity. All he knew was that she looked familiar.

"Do I know you?" Trinity smiled.

"You will."


	16. Chapter 16

Rose was frantic and Jack wasn't allowing her to just follow the ship as it flew away.

"My daughter is on that ship Jack!"

"She's with the Doctor. Besides, unless you have another way of getting aboard that Phyla mother ship we can't do anything. It's already out of range of our transporters."

Rose could have killed him. She wasn't Bad Wolf fully yet and without the TARDIS, she couldn't do anything. And Rose wasn't about to leave Torchwood in search of the TARDIS. She just hoped the Doctor realized whom he had with him and acted appropriately.

----------

"What does that mean?" The Doctor was finally working through the barrier that was impairing his thoughts. He would know? Did that mean he would remember or that she was going to introduce herself in some high fashion? Either way, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"It means that I have a few memory stones that you should see when we get out of this mess. Now buck up, you still have your coat. That sonic screwdriver didn't fall out right?" The Doctor patted down his pockets before pulling out the device and releasing himself from jail.

"How did you know about this?" Trinity sighed as the Doctor worked on the lock to her cell.

"Ask Rose and that's all I'm going to tell you until we get out of here!"

The Doctor stopped halfway through opening Trinity's cell door. He stared at her for a minute before yanking the door all the way open and advancing on her. He took her by the shoulders and looked Trinity square in the eye and what he saw made him take a step back and suck in air as if someone had punched him. He saw time and space. He saw flashes of the girl in his dreams.

What he saw most was himself.

"You're…"

"Yep! Knew you'd work it out if you weren't completely insane! Now can we get out of here? Don't tell anyone, but I'm not particularly found of bats."

The Doctor closed his gaping mouth and set his jaw as he nodded. He needed to get out of this disaster in one piece and he needed to do it without causing harm to his… daughter. He gulped before turning his back on Trinity and leading the way to the only door that didn't lead to a cell. Trinity trailed after him, ready to follow her father to the end no matter what end that may be.

Quickly setting out of the unattended prison, the Doctor and Trinity headed for the surrounding woods. The Phyla apparently didn't believe that they would escape, even though they'd come in contact with the Doctor before. Stepping lightly through the underbrush, the Doctor looked sideways at Trinity.

"Do you know much about this race?"

"No. Nothing at all actually other than they look like bats and kind of sound like bats when they laugh. What can you tell me about them?"

The Doctor chewed his lip. She really was like Rose, curiosity plain on her face as they tried to escape danger. It didn't seem matter that they could be caught at any second, the look of complete trust on Trinity's face was enough to make the Doctor want to cower away and stand still in awe. That trust he had only experienced from one person and she was just as precious as Rose.

Trinity blinked at him when she realized he was staring. It wasn't her he was seeing at the moment but Trinity didn't mind. This was why she wanted to come through realities; that look on the face of the man she could see her father in. The look that said he was remembering better times and wanting to see her have the same fate.

"Well… Let's see. Their common name is Phyla. They are a brilliant race at building technology. The only problem they seem to have is that once they build a device they don't know how to use it or what it does. It takes them years to understand what they've built as if from memory."

"Strange yes, but it's been thought that it comes from their sonic frequency that comes from them as they sleep. Almost like bats yet on a psychic level…"

The Doctor continued to ramble about the history of the species, much to Trinity's amusement. He led her past a river and over to a clearing that the Doctor deemed far enough away to use his communicator that Jack had given him when he came aboard the third time.

"Well, about time we got back yes? Rose is going to be worried sick about you."

"Not only me Dad."

The Doctor stopped short as he reached for the communicator. He turned to look at Trinity who was waiting patiently for him to make everything right. His jaw became squared as his eyes looked hard and sad.

"I'm not your father. I don't even know your name."

"Trinity Jenny Smith daughter of Doctor John Noble Smith and Rose Marion Tyler. I have two uncles, Tony and John, and an aunt, Lily. My cousin is Jack, son of aunt Lily. I'm around twenty-nine in Earth years but only about eight in Time Lord counting. And I keep track of that because I am a Time Lord."

"I have one heart and all of time and space in my head along with part of the TARDIS. I am not Bad Wolf but I am the child of it. My DNA is the same as yours, Dad passed away three years ago, Mum was about to when Bad Wolf rejuvenated her, and I want my family back!"

Trinity had slowly gone from calm and collected to yelling as tears rolled down her cheeks. She swayed and almost hit her knees, but the Doctor caught her and scooped her into his arms letting her sob into his jacket. Quickly, he called the TARDIS to him as the young Time Lord in his arms passed quietly into unconscious as her young mind shut itself down to save her heart any more pain.


	17. Chapter 17

Rose could hear the TARDIS but it sounded like it was dematerializing. She turned to Jack and gave him a cold stare. He at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"I thought you said the TARDIS was parked down by the Rift?"

Jack looked away and Rose growled before smacking him upside the head.

----------

The Doctor quickly put Trinity in the captain's chair. As she curled into herself, a trait she'd had since childhood, a bag dropped from her pocket. The Doctor picked up the bag between finger and thumb, almost as if he was afraid it would attack him. Unfortunately, he didn't notice that it was open and a single electric blue stone floated to the floor.

It hit the ground before he could catch it and unhinged to reveal a blue horizontal screen about the size of one of the TARDIS' output screens. On it played a 3D scene that was meant to always be remembered and cherished, just not by this version of the Doctor.

It was Trinity's birthday. A glowing Rose held a white cupcake away from her daughter as she reached for the burning candle on top it. Jackie and Pete, along with a very young boy entered holding a brightly wrapped package. Then came the Doctor waving a camera around, pointing it at everyone in the room. Rose laughed as he complained about the simplicity of the device and how something or another would be much better. Then he gave the camera to Pete and held his daughter as she blew out the candle as Rose's helped.

The Doctor sat on his banana couch, tears glistening at the corner of his eyes. He looked down at the bag still in his hand and realized he was now clutching it, as if it was going to slip away. There was movement from in front of him and when the Doctor looked up, he locked eyes with Trinity.

"That was my second birthday. The little boy was Uncle Tony. I think you know everyone else there. You see why I pushed through realities to get to you? You were always there and Mum never gave up her laugh or smile or wit. Yet, when you, the other you, died she faded away. I knew she'd be 'born again' and I couldn't stand the thought of her being alone in that parallel world. Truth be told, I didn't want US being alone."

The Doctor nodded before looking down at the bag in his hands yet again. Trinity stood and went over to him. She pulled out another stone and wrapped his hand around it before walking towards the hallway leading into the TARDIS. She almost made all the way before she stalled and ran back to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his temple.

"Night Dad."

And then she was gone, off to find a more suitable place to rest her weary mind so she didn't lose consciousness again. The Doctor was left with an unvoiced choice. If he continued looking through these memory stones then he would be giving in to domestic, a wife and daughter who would do nothing but adore him until the end of time. But if he didn't…

That's when the Doctor realized that nothing could make him not be that girl's father. Nothing could keep him from staying with Rose forever now. He smiled, and then laughed when he realized just how like him Trinity was. She had stepped into the impossible and brought about the impossible to make the universe complete.

The Doctor stood and walked to the TARDIS' console. He had a headset somewhere; he had used it to become John Smith. Now he was going to use it to download all these memories directly into his own mind. It may be overwhelming, but his daughter had given him the most precious gift she couldn't even imagine how precious it was.

To her it was about keeping family. To him it was about gaining one.

He was going to become the combination of Doctor John Noble Smith and the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm. He was going to give both Trinity, and Rose, a man worthy of their unconditional love.

----------

Rose was pacing. She could have handled the Doctor and her daughter off on another world, possibly in danger. She could have handled having to go bail them out of a risky position. But this was maddening! The TARDIS had gone off which meant that either one of them was hurt or all hope really was lost.

But then she could feel something tugging at her mind that made her freeze mid-stride. It was familiar to Rose, though it had been awhile since it'd happened. Jack was in front of her, shaking her as he said her name over and over. There was a faint glow that came to her eyes and Jack backed away, his own eyes wide as gold engulfed the young woman.

She disappeared with a song that no one present in the entire Torchwood building would ever forget.


	18. Chapter 18

The Doctor shook his head as he removed the headgear. Then he sat down and just clutched at it. He'd seen everything that the other Doctor had. Trinity had failed to mention that these were his memories, not hers.

He could remember the wedding, Trinity's birth, Jackie and Pete's deaths, Tony finding out he was an alien, playing with Trinity after school, holding her through the nightmares as she saw time and space, the fights with Rose about Trinity, the making up, and all the emotions that came with.

The Doctor put his palms to his eyes before shooting up as the center console started to glow. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Trinity in the doorway watching. Soon, a golden light erupted from the doors of the TARDIS, making them fly open. It bonded with the console before settling down to a faint outline.

Rose Tyler stood inside the TARDIS, one hand pressed against the main console as a howl resonated throughout the Vortex that could be seen out the doors.

Nothing was said as Rose dropped her hand and looked around at Trinity before her eyes set on the Doctor. No words were needed for the lost couple. Both smiled as their eyes locked, tears already pouring down their cheeks.

Rose and the Doctor walked quickly towards each other. They were soon wrapped in the other's arms, whispering endearments, promises, and explanations. Rose found out the Doctor knew everything about Trinity and her past from the perspective of her beloved husband. The Doctor found out that Rose wasn't willing to allow him to be without her any longer.

Trinity laughed out loud from the doorway. This was what she had wanted. Her parents looked at her, both knowing that it would be difficult to move forward. But they were going too, as a family.

Trinity bounded over to Rose and the Doctor, relishing in the fact that this was just the next step. This was only the beginning.

All of them had done the impossible on their own and they'd been ripped apart because of it. Now it was time to show the universe, to shout back at everything that had kept them apart, in all of time and space, that the impossible had no hold on them anymore.

They all were going to step into the impossible together and prove that anything and everything was possible. Reality non-withstanding.


End file.
